Networked Insights Parses Social Buzz Around Mars and the Red Hot Chili Peppers

When it comes to Sunday's Super Bowl halftime show, will you stay or will you go (to another channel, to the bathroom, on a beer run, etc.)? Ad Age worked with Networked Insights, a marketing-technology company that advises brands on audience targeting and content strategy, to track social-media sentiment surrounding headliner Bruno Mars and guest band the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Scroll down below the graphic for some notes.

Getty Images (Bruno Mars, Red Hot Chili Peppers)

• Networked Insights tracks sentiment across the social web, including Twitter and Facebook, as well as forums and blog posts.

• No surprise that 28-year-old Mars -- born Peter Gene Hernandez in Honolulu -- has a huge following among Hispanics. (His dad is Puerto Rican and Jewish and his mother is Filipino.) But the secret to his selection likely has more to do with his middle-of-the-road, radio-friendly appeal. The demographic segment Networked Insights found to be chattering the most about Mars in social media? Moms. (Insert your own "Mars Needs Moms" -- or the NFL needs moms -- joke here.) As Kevin Rutherford of Radio.com wrote last September when Mars' halftime gig was first announced:

Mars is the epitome of a modern-day performer that can bridge the gap between the old and the new. He has a current appeal that brings in younger, hip viewers while not alienating the NFL's older demographic…. With Mars, you're getting a performer that can give you impassioned pop ballads ("When I Was Your Man") one minute, and a soulful R&B jam ("Runaway Baby") the next.

• Speaking of the NFL's older demographic, it's worth noting that the Red Hot Chili Peppers have been around forever (since 1983) compared to Mars and were 2012 Rock and Rock Hall of Fame inductees. (Frontman Anthony Kiedis, 51, is literally old enough to be Mars' dad.) Though the Red Hot Chili Peppers have a fraction of Bruno Mars' buzz -- the band had about 1/7th the amount of social-media mentions over the past three months, as tracked by Networked Insights -- they have a deep and wide following, thanks to 10 studio albums over three decades. They're also known for raucous punk-meets-funk performances; the NFL is clearly expecting the band to add a dose of testosterone to balance out Mars' heartfelt, mom-friendly crooning.

Simon Dumenco is the "Media Guy" columnist for Advertising Age. You can follow him on Twitter @simondumenco.